Article supporting device



Oct. 22, 1935. B. F. BOWER ARTICLE SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed OCT.. 27.- 1933 ATTORNY Patented Oct. 22, 1935 4UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTICLE SUPPORTING DEVICE Application October 27, 1933, Serial No. 695,419

l 3 Claims.

This invention relates to article supporting devices, and more particularly to devices for supporting articles to be treated.

In the treating of articles in a plating bath, it

6 is the common practice to employ racks for suspending the articles in the bath, the articles being fastened to and suspended from a cross bar of the rack by means of tie wires inserted through individual apertures in the cross bar. After each plating operation the tie wires are removed individually from the bar by untwisting and/or cutting them with pliers, and thereafter pulling them through the apertures in the bar, which operation is costly, tedious, and results in blisters on the operators fingers'.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and practical device for supporting articles to be treated and which upon completion of the treating operation may be conveniently and rapidly unloaded of the tie wires.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention as applied to an article supporting rack for a plating bath there is provided a rack comprising a cross bar having spaced apertured depending lugs and a retractable pin which is inserted through the apertures of the lugs, the tie wires supporting the articles to be treated being looped around the pin between the spaced lugs. Upon completion of the plating operation and the removal of the rack from the bath all of the tie wires with or without the articles attached thereto may be expeditiously detached and dropped from the rack by simply pulling out the pin.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when used in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side View of one form of an article supporting device embodying the features of this invention, and

Fig. 2 is an end view thereof.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the plating rack illustrated comprises two identical vertical side members I0, formed of copper or other conducting metal through which the current is adapted to be conducted to the plating bath (not shown) 'Ihe upper ends of the member I0 are each provided with a hook portion II for engagement with a cathode conductor bar I2. Interconnecting the member I is a handle I3 having downwardly extending ends riveted to the members I0 adjacent their lower ends. Brazed to or otherwise secured to the lower ends of the members I0 below the handle I3 is a metal cross bar I5 having opposite ends thereof projecting from the associated members for an appreciable distance. A series of spaced depending ears or lugs I6 are formed upon the cross bar I5 along its lower portion and below the lower ends of the members II). The lugs I6, which extend I5y from one end to the other of the cross bar I5, are provided with circular alined apertures I'I for the reception of a retractable metal rod or pin I8 which is inserted through the alined apertures, one end of the pin being formed with a. right angle 10 extension I9 serving as a hand grip for inserting and withdrawing the pin from the cross bar I5.

In the use of the above described plating rack articles 20 to be plated are suspended from the pin I8 by metal tie wires 2| which have their l5 upper ends looped around the portions of the pin between the spaced lugs I6 of the cross bar I5 and then twisted around the wires, and the lower ends of the wires are inserted through apertures in the article or otherwise engaged therewith and 20 then twisted around the wire. As an alternative, the upper loop on the tie wires may be made before being attached to the rack and the tie wires may be successively mounted on the pin I8 while the latter is being inserted in the lugs I6. 25 Thereafter the rack is supported on the cathode conductor bar I2 above the plating bath by means of the hook portions of the side members I0, the articles being immersed in the plating bath. 'I'he current is switched on and the current iiows through the bar I2, the members I0, the cross bar I5, the pin I8, and the individual article supporting wires 2| and to the articles 20 which are electroplated in the well known manner. Upon completion of the plating of the articles 20 the current is switched oi and the rack is removed from the cathode conductor bar I2 and suspended from a convenient point by means of the handle I3. Preferably the articles 20 are first removed from the wires 2|, still attached at their 0 upper ends to the rack by the pin I8, by slightly untwisting the lower wire ends and then pulling the articles from the wires. The wires 2| may then be expeditiously and simultaneously detached or unloaded from the rack -by simply 45 pulling the pin I8, by means of the hand grip I9,

. out from the lugs I6 of the cross bar I5, the tie wires 2|, which it is not the practice to use a second time, dropping into a refuse receptacle.

In case it is desired to reload the rack with 50 articles 20 to continue the plating operation with a minimum of delay it will be obvious that instead of rst removing the plated articles from the tie wires 2| and then dropping the wires from the pin I8. as described above, the tie wires with I5 the attached articles may be removed together from the rack by first pulling the pin I 8 out from theV lugs I6 of the cross bar l5 and subsequently detaching the articles from theV Wires.

It will beV evident that with a rack of the type described there is no necessity of individually untwisting and/or cutting the tie wires 2| andV thereafter pulling thereon to remove them from the rack, which is necessary in the common type of plating racks in which the tie wires are threaded through individual apertures in the cross bar, which operation Vis uneconomical, tedious, and harmful to the operatcrs ngers.

Although there is herein shown and described a specic embodiment of this invention, it should be understood that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.V

What is claimed'is:

1. An electroplating rack for supporting articles to be electroplated comprising a pair of spaced supporting members, a cross member connecting ,said supporting members, said cross member having a plurality of spaced portions provided with alined apertures, and a retractable rod inserted through the apertures upon which articles may be freely suspended between the spaced portions of said cross member and upon retraction of, said rod permitting the suspended articles to drop from the device.

2. An electroplating rack comprising a pair'of spaced conducting and supporting members, a conducting cross bar connecting said members, said bar being formed with a plurality of spaced depending alined apertured lugs, and a retractable conducting rod inserted through the aperturesrupon which articles may befreelywsuspended between the spaced lugs of said cross bar and upon retraction of said rod permitting the suspended articles to be expeditiously released from the rack. n

3. An electroplating rack comprising a supporting and conducting member, a cross bar conductively connected to said member, a plurality of spaced and downwardly extending apertured lugs on said cross bar, and a rod withdrawable from said lugs and extending through said apertures for receiving looping articles supports between said lugs.

BYRON F. BOWER. 

